ryanhandinc

Do you attend conferences? Social Media conferences? Ok- then you know that some of them just SUCK! With so many of them out there, it’s hard to find ones that have golden takeaways and really tickle your mind grapes. (Mind Grapes is totally not a real word/thing, but I heard it on 30 Rock once and it stuck) @that woman_is is onto something. She is the creator and mastermind behind #UnGeeked Elite – a Retreat for those tired of bland run of the mill Social Media lecture sessions. I attended #Ungeeked in Chicago a few weeks ago and am still processing all the incredible knowledge I was able to soak up.

Why is it so much better? It’s a 3 day retreat with 8 discussions a day lead by some of the brightest minds in the industry. #Ungeeked takes away “death by PowerPoint” by not using slides- rather starting a topic and allowing us attendees to discuss theories and ideas as they relate to each of us- our industries- and our experiences.

I’m so glad @sexythinker was one of the first to lead- she shot motivation through my veins with her stories of the 30 day personal revolution.  “Be the change” she exemplifies the change- and reminded me that we need not always use social platforms to talk about ourselves- but promote and cause a “social ripple” for a greater good like #nokidhungry.

Olivier Blanchard aka @thebrandbuilder totally cleared out the fog in front of the mystical Social Media ROI. Friends and likes and followers will never equate apples to apples into a dollar amount, so his discussion gave me new hope to re-align my deliverables and show how I can prove a ROI at my job… I would explain more- but you need to talk to him- or better yet read his book Social Media ROI.

I just found myself almost saying my companies name in that last paragraph… then I thought “well… do I want to do that? Are there legal ramifications?”  Luckily we were able to talk about the law and social media with @DianaMLaw. Her discussion recharged me with that “go get um” “Innocent until proven guilty” spirit. After all, the precedents are just now being discovered and we will be the ones to help mold how laws in this area are going to be structured. I’m still going to speak freely and update all my networks. Better go update my Linked-in before @jwillie will use me as an example of what NOT to do!

I could write so much more about all the other speakers, but this is a blog not a book. Every single discussion leader was divine, and I feel honored to have been in the same room with all of them. Now I gotta run and grab some coffee with @spikejones and bask in the glory of Austin… hey #UnGeeked… when are you coming here?

@keithprivette leading the discussion